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CENTENNIAL- Blaming anti-Muslim sentiment and denying wrongdoing, a Saudi Arabian citizen was sentenced Thursday to 28 years to life in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an Indonesian housekeeper and keeping her as a virtual slave for four years.
"Your honor, I am not here to apologize, for I cannot apologize for things I did not do and for crimes I did not commit," Homaidan Al-Turki told the judge in a voice choked with emotion. "Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution."
He said FBI agents persuaded the now-24-year-old housekeeper, who initially denied any sexual abuse, to accuse him after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.
Al-Turki, a linguist who brought his family to Colorado 14 years ago and was studying for a doctorate at the University of Colorado, was convicted June 30 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion, all felonies; and of misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.
Prosecutors said Al-Turki's ethnicity and religion were never a factor in the prosecution. Ann Tomsic asked District Judge Mark Hannen to treat Al-Turki as he would an American citizen who committed similar crimes.
"The world is listening, and the court needs to make a statement that in the United States, or at least in Arapahoe County, this kind of slavery will not be tolerated," Tomsic told Hannen.
Outside the court, prosecutor Natalie Decker said the evidence was overwhelming and none of it was fabricated.
"This girl has been consistent through her statements once she came forward," Decker said.
Before announcing the sentence, Hannen denied a defense motion for a new trial. Defense attorney John Richilano said he intends to appeal the convictions, citing problems with jury selection and the admission of certain evidence and witness testimony.
"I was convicted on fear and emotion, not facts," Al-Turki, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit with his hands and ankles shackled, told the judge. "I want a fair trial where my religion and where I come from is not (the basis for) a conviction."
Prosecutors and FBI agents said Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, brought the woman to Colorado to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. An affidavit said she spent four years with the family in the suburban Aurora home, sleeping on a mattress on the basement floor and getting paid less than $2 a day.
The Associated Press is not identifying the woman because of the sexual nature of the charges.
Al-Turki said he treated the woman the same way any observant Muslim family would treat a daughter.
"The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors," he said.
Al-Turki said he has been under investigation as a suspected terrorist since 1995 but has never been charged with the crime.
"I am not a terrorist and I don't advocate terrorism," he said.
Al-Turki, who owned a Denver publishing and translating company, also faces trial in federal court in October on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.
In April, he and Khonaizan agreed to pay the nanny about $64,000 in wages to settle a Labor Department lawsuit. He could also face restitution payments in the state case. The judge said he would rule on that later.
Khonaizan pleaded guilty to a federal immigration charge and a state theft charge. She was sentenced to home detention and probation in the federal case and two months in jail in the state case.
Her attorney, Forrest Lewis, has said she wants to return to Saudi Arabia and will not fight deportation, which he expects to occur after her state sentence is completed.
After the hearing, Al-Turki's 17-year-old son Turki Al-Turki and 16-year-old daughter Lama Al-Turki, echoed their father's claim that the government targeted him and other Muslims out of fear sparked by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"The community is all behind him 100 percent," said the children's guardian, Thorayia Maraheel, 20. "Everyone in this community has a good picture of him, and regardless of what they say about him, we know the truth."
"Your honor, I am not here to apologize, for I cannot apologize for things I did not do and for crimes I did not commit," Homaidan Al-Turki told the judge in a voice choked with emotion. "Attacking traditional Muslim behaviors was the focal point of the prosecution."
He said FBI agents persuaded the now-24-year-old housekeeper, who initially denied any sexual abuse, to accuse him after they failed to build a case that he was a terrorist.
Al-Turki, a linguist who brought his family to Colorado 14 years ago and was studying for a doctorate at the University of Colorado, was convicted June 30 of unlawful sexual contact by use of force, theft and extortion, all felonies; and of misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.
Prosecutors said Al-Turki's ethnicity and religion were never a factor in the prosecution. Ann Tomsic asked District Judge Mark Hannen to treat Al-Turki as he would an American citizen who committed similar crimes.
"The world is listening, and the court needs to make a statement that in the United States, or at least in Arapahoe County, this kind of slavery will not be tolerated," Tomsic told Hannen.
Outside the court, prosecutor Natalie Decker said the evidence was overwhelming and none of it was fabricated.
"This girl has been consistent through her statements once she came forward," Decker said.
Before announcing the sentence, Hannen denied a defense motion for a new trial. Defense attorney John Richilano said he intends to appeal the convictions, citing problems with jury selection and the admission of certain evidence and witness testimony.
"I was convicted on fear and emotion, not facts," Al-Turki, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit with his hands and ankles shackled, told the judge. "I want a fair trial where my religion and where I come from is not (the basis for) a conviction."
Prosecutors and FBI agents said Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, brought the woman to Colorado to care for their five children and to cook and clean for the family. An affidavit said she spent four years with the family in the suburban Aurora home, sleeping on a mattress on the basement floor and getting paid less than $2 a day.
The Associated Press is not identifying the woman because of the sexual nature of the charges.
Al-Turki said he treated the woman the same way any observant Muslim family would treat a daughter.
"The state has criminalized these basic Muslim behaviors," he said.
Al-Turki said he has been under investigation as a suspected terrorist since 1995 but has never been charged with the crime.
"I am not a terrorist and I don't advocate terrorism," he said.
Al-Turki, who owned a Denver publishing and translating company, also faces trial in federal court in October on charges of forced labor, document servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.
In April, he and Khonaizan agreed to pay the nanny about $64,000 in wages to settle a Labor Department lawsuit. He could also face restitution payments in the state case. The judge said he would rule on that later.
Khonaizan pleaded guilty to a federal immigration charge and a state theft charge. She was sentenced to home detention and probation in the federal case and two months in jail in the state case.
Her attorney, Forrest Lewis, has said she wants to return to Saudi Arabia and will not fight deportation, which he expects to occur after her state sentence is completed.
After the hearing, Al-Turki's 17-year-old son Turki Al-Turki and 16-year-old daughter Lama Al-Turki, echoed their father's claim that the government targeted him and other Muslims out of fear sparked by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"The community is all behind him 100 percent," said the children's guardian, Thorayia Maraheel, 20. "Everyone in this community has a good picture of him, and regardless of what they say about him, we know the truth."
